Chinese President Xi Jinping tells British parliament countries can become a ‘community of shared interests’
In his first public speech during his state visit to Britain, Chinese President Xi Jinping reviewed the historic relationship between the two countries and painted a picture of a promising future in which the countries became “a community of shared interests”.
Xi arrived at parliament after a private lunch at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth. He told parliamentarians he was “impressed” by the “friendly” relations between the two countries.
In a 10-minute speech, Xi noted that Britain was the largest offshore yuan trading centre and hosted the most Chinese students of any European Union country.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Xi's UK trip
He also mentioned that Britain had become the first western country to issue yuan sovereign bonds after another first - when it became the first major Western country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founder member.
Xi also described entering the Palace of Westminster as like “going back in time” and touched briefly on law and order.
“China’s first code of statutes was compiled more than 2,000 years ago,” said Xi.
Hailed as the start of a "golden era" in Sino-British ties, Xi's visit has been criticised by activists who accuse the British Prime Minister David Cameron of turning a blind eye to rights abuses, including what they call a crackdown on civil liberties since the president came to power in 2012.
It has also ruffled feathers among some of Britain’s traditional allies, such as the United States, where Xi’s visit last month was tainted by friction over cyber-theft and Beijing’s moves in Asian maritime disputes.
Xi paid little or no attention to the criticism, even when the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP introduced his speech to both Houses of Parliament and referred to Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as a symbol of freedom.
Xi instead told lawmakers that by working together both countries would "surely embrace an even brighter future" and that his visit would "lift the friendly ties between our countries to a new height" in a speech that made reference to Chinese proverbs and William Shakespeare.
Hours before Xi’s speech, parliament had held an urgent session to discuss British steel job losses that were blamed on China selling steel at a loss on world markets.
Tata Steel announced this week before Xi’s arrival that it was cutting 1,200 jobs in Britain due to cheap Chinese imports.
Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to cement a lucrative place for Britain as China’s closest friend in the West and win investment in infrastructure, nuclear power and in the government’s transformation of northern England.
